For Salman’s show, Preity was the cheerleader

Bollywood actress Preity Zinta played the role of a perfect cheerleader for dear friend Salman Khan whose “Being Human” show at the ongoing HDIL India Couture Week here late Tuesday saw many celebrities strutting down the ramp.

Dressed in a “Being Human” sleeveless T-shirt and sporting a new look with fringes falling perfectly on her forehead, the actress looked as ravishing as ever.

Sitting with her friend choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan and fashion designer Manish Malhotra, the actress started shouting from the very first moment when Salman Khan started the show and sashayed down the ramp.

“Wow! Salman! Salman!,” shouted Zinta and continued clapping till he left the ramp.

It was not just for Salman, she also cheered for other celebrities like Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Katrina Kaif, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan with equal enthusiasm.

Farah Khan and Manish Malhotra joined her and together left no stone unturned to pep up the atmosphere.

“I must tell you that my throat is already gone. I was so happy that all this shouting and cheering just happened. The show was all about being human and being together. It celebrated togetherness of the industry and this is what had me do all the shouting. But it is worth it,” Preity said after the show.

Commenting on Aamir Khan’s ramp debut, she said that the actor looked cute.

“I think he was looking very cute on the ramp. He is already so charming and you can’t take that away from him,” she said.

A kiss on forehead, from Helen to Salma Khan

This was a spontaneous gesture. The moment three brothers Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan walked hand-in-hand on the ramp, stepmother Helen kissed their real mom Salma Khan on her forehead to cherish the moment of togetherness.

The magical moment came during Salman’s “Being Human” show on the second day of the HDIL India Couture Week.

“It was spontaneous. I didn’t know what came to my mind at that moment. But it was a very proud moment for the family and just to share that moment of togetherness, I kissed Salma on her forehead,” Helen said.

This was the first time that the whole Khan family had made a public appearance together. With Salma and Helen sitting next to each other and their daughter-in-law Malaika Arora Khan and daughter Arpita cheering for all of them in the audience, the family bonding was at its peak.

“Today we had everyone here except for my father, who I am sure is sitting somewhere up above and watching us and it is him who has guided me to take this path and come up with this fashion show,” said Salman Khan.

“It is an incredible and memorable moment for me,” he added.

At the end of the show, the three brothers pushed their mothers Salma and Helen respectively to walk the ramp with them.

For Salman’s charity “Being Human” show, the Bollywood industry had come in full support with as many as 10 celebrities walking the ramp and many sitting in the audience to cheer for them.

The show saw the ramp debut of Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn who looked a bit nervous, while Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Katrina Kaif, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan walked with poise.

Among Bollywood stars who cheered for them with the audience was choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan, Bollywood actors Preity Zinta, Sushmita Sen, Amisha Patel, Amrita Arora, Twinkle Khanna, Malaika Arora Khan, fashion designer Manish Malhotra, filmmaker Boney Kapoor with his wife Sridevi and two daughters, and cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

For the show, the clothes were designed by designer duo Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna, Ashish Soni, Gavin Miguel and Rocky S, among others.

David Dhawan has acting dreams - and Govinda’s in them!

Known for tickling the funny bone of movie buffs, director David Dhawan says he wouldn’t mind facing the camera - though only along with his favourite actor Govinda.

“I don’t mind doing a scene or two in a film if offered or may be in my own film. But one thing is for sure - it has to be with Govinda. I will act only if he is there in the scene too,” Dhawan told in an interview .

As a director, Dhawan collaborated with Govinda for the first time in 1993 for the hit movie “Aankhen” and they churned out one hit after another such as “Hero No.1″, “Jodi No. 1″ and “Coolie No. 1″. And their recent success was “Partner” that also had Salman Khan in a pivotal role.

Talking about their 16-year relationship, Dhawan said: “Govinda and I trust each other to the core. I never read out the script to him, he has never asked for that. He just does the film. Similarly, I give him a lot of space while shooting a scene so that he can do it the way he wants to.”

Now the two have collaborated once again for the laugh riot “Do Knot Disturb”, which is being produced by Big Pictures. Along with Govinda, the film also stars Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta and Riteish Deshmukh.

The film revolves around a rich businessman, who in order to hide his extra marital affair with a model bribes a waiter into pretending to be her boyfriend. Mistaken identities and misunderstandings follow. It is slated to release Oct 2.

The director, whose real name is Rajinder Dhawan, maintains that his films are not about stories but screenplays. He revealed that for “Do Knot Disturb” he took cues from real life incidents.

“I have taken cues from society and people around me for the film. In real life, you get to know a lot and various things that you observe are used in your films in some way or the other.

“I’m sure someone or the other in the hall will identify with the film and realise that it is his/her story,” said Dhawan.

While talking about the film, Dhawan had high praise for Riteish with whom he has worked for the first time.

“I didn’t expect that Riteish will turn out to be such a good actor. When we worked on the first day I felt that he has potential. Then slowly I realised that he is quite good and I should work hard on him. He gives his best.”

Even though he is known to specialise in comic capers and his next after “Do Knot Disturb” is another comedy, “Hook Ya Crook”, Dhawan says he is looking forward to venturing into other genres as well.

“I don’t plan to stick to only comedies. I want to get to the emotional angle of films as well. I am in the thinking process and am looking forward to doing something different also. Let us see when that thought takes shape,” responded Dhawan.

Govinda caught teasing Dolly Dolly

Audience must have come across to the promos of film “Do knot disturb”. They appear fresh, appealing and most importantly- classically duo Govinda-David sort, who are known for laughter riot.
The thing, which is attracting one and all, is, “Dolly Dolly” by Govinda, with a typical tune and in his unique style. One can bet, girls named Dolly would love to hear their name again and again from Govinda. And indeed after seeing the promos they must be going ga-ga over it. But the thing, which is bothering them, is that everyone is eve-teasing them in the same manner. It makes a difference if Govinda says it

Govinda ga-ga over Amrita

With the success of “Life Partner’, the new pairing of Govinda and Amrita Rao seems to have clicked with the audiences. In fact, audiences have called the pair a highlight of the film, and are looking forward to seeing the two together in more films. But if there is one new fan Amrita Rao can definitely lay claim to, is her co-star- Govinda. Ever since the movie has released, Govinda can’t stop raving about the lass.

“She was a pleasure, and a splendid person to work to with. She is hard working, dedicated, talented and on top of it all, absolutely professional. She is a truly gifted actor. With values like that, Amrita is definitely going to go places in the industry,” gushes Govinda, who is now looking forward to working alongside Amrita in his other movies too.

With their dazzle spilling over the silver screen, let’s hope we get to see them together more often.

Music of Bollywood film ‘Do Knot Disturb’ released in Mumbai

The cast of the upcoming Bollywood movie ‘Do Knot Disturb’ shared the stage for film’s promotion on the occasion of its music launch in Mumbai.

Directed by David Dhawan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani, the film stars Govinda, Ritesh Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and Sushmita Sen.

Big Pictures and Vashu Bhagnani’s Puja Films promises to add moments of laughter and joy to audience’s life along with a message.

Talking about the film’s music, Bhagnani said it is a great combination of music directors Nadeem-Shravan and Sameer has given the lyrics to suit the blend of the romantic comedy.

“The music is very good. It is the combination is of two guys Nadeem and Shravan. Sameer has done the lyrics. It is not a story which I can tell you about. It is a complete comedy with a small message into it. When you see it the message will come out,” said Bhagnani.

‘Do Knot Disturb’ also marks the coming together of the super hit comedy Jodi (duo) of David Dhawan and Govinda after a gap of two years bringing out a story on mistaken identities and misunderstandings.

“I have a mixed role in the film. Inspite of different characters, the film will be entertaining which actually takes the movie along. That is the most entertaining element in the film,” said Govinda.

Though Lara Dutta and Ritiesh Deshmukh couldn’t attend the music launch, they made their presence felt through a video-conference from London.

‘Do Knot Disturb’ is slated for release on October 2 this year.

Govinda becomes a John Abraham fan!

John Abraham has found a new die-hard fan from Bollywood in Govinda. Though Govinda hasn’t worked with the hunky John yet, it is learnt that he is looking forward to working with him soon.

A source reveals, “Recently, when Govinda met up with his favorite director David Dhawan, he was surprised to hear Dhawan singing huge praises of John. Dhawan is working with John in his upcoming flick, Hook Ya Crook. David appeared very impressed with John and his spontaneity, and couldn’t stop gushing about him to Govinda. That’s when Govinda got curious about John’s work in the movie. He wanted to see for himself why Dhawan was so impressed with John. Then David called Govinda to his studio the next day and showed him a few rushes of their forthcoming film. The actor was pleasantly surprised to see John’s energy on the screen and the innocence he brought to the character. He felt that John’s acting skills made Dhawan’s humor work perfectly for the film. Since then, even Govinda can’t stop gushing about John and has expressed his desire to work with him to Dhawan.”

Govinda brings the house down in ‘Life Partner’

Film: “Life Partner”

Cast: Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor, Prachi Desai, Fardeen Khan, Genelia D’Souza

Director: Rumi Jaffrey;

Some of the writing invested into this not-bad comic look at the roller-coaster called marriage is surprisingly sharp.

For example, there’s this Gujarati family lorded over by a tycoon (Darshan Jariwala) in Cape Town who remains rigidly rooted to conventions that ended 50 years ago. Back home in Gujarat a modern business family run by a liberal patriarch (Vikram Gokhale) ends up giving his daughter (Prachi Desai) to the NRI tycoon’s mousy son (Tusshar Kapoor). The conflict that ensues is likeable and in a fully filmy way, believable.

Elsewhere this spoilt rich girl (Genelia) with a father (Anupam Kher), who never bothered to discipline her, gets herself a domesticated husband who does all the work while she attends to various disastrous hobbies.

Genelia as the destructive daughter gets to sink her teeth into a meaty part.

Witty and sometimes genuinely funny, “Life Partner” is a light bubbly take on the pitfalls of various kinds of marriages, arranged or otherwise, and how to avoid perils of getting into a marital alliance where the partners know nothing about the future.

While Genelia is happily over-the-top, Prachi in the rounded sensible part of a Gujarati girl standing up to her autocratic father-in-law does well for herself. Of the two young leading men, Tusshar as the timid believer in virginity as a gift to his bride suits his part and does at least one sequence when he bursts into tears after Prachi accepts his proposal with tonal correctness.

But it is Govinda as the frazzled divorce lawyer who brings the house down. Govinda gives the kind of tongue-in-cheek performance that once made him the number one choice for roles that required comic interpretations of social problems. He works well in combination with every actor in this film, wooden or hammy.

Rumi Jaffrey’s direction is most of the time even in tone. But the last half hour with its screeching sermonizing gets on to slippery ground. Nonetheless “Life Partner” is a decent inoffensive marital comedy mostly free of double-meanings.

Movie Review: Life Partner

Life Partner: Timepass flick
Starring: Govinda, Fardeen Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Genelia D’Souza, Prachi Desai, Darshan Jariwala and Amrita Rao in Sp.App
Director: Rumi Jaffrery
“Marriage’ is the union of two souls in a bond, which lasts a lifetime. Though practically, there is far too much that goes into actually managing a “marriage’. This is what “Life Partner’ is all about in a nutshell.
It is a story about three friends, Karan (Fardeen Khan) for whom “Love marriage is the perfect bet’, Bhavesh (Tusshar Kapoor) who does not believe in the concept of “Dating’ and prefers an arranged set up and then there’s Jeet (Govinda) a divorce lawyer who believes in “No marriage’. Karan’s and Bhavesh’s lives turn upside down when they marry their respective partners, Sanjana (Genelia D’souza) and Prachi (Prachi Desai) and how they re-affirm their faith in the institution of marriage is what the rest of the film all about.
Turning producers, director duo Abbas Mustan have not left any stone unturned from giving the film a grandiose look. Wish they were equally charged about promoting the film as there is no buzz around the movie. The locales of Cape Town are eye catching and Sameer Arya’s cinematography makes it look so much better.
Writer-Director Rumi Jaffery has already proved his prowess in writing in the past and after seeing this film one can easily say that his craft in direction is equally good as far as films of this genre are concerned. But the screenplay (Yunus Sajawal) suffers on many counts as the film starts off well, dips intermittently, gathers momentum in the second half and drops again during pre-climax and climax. Niranjan Iyengar’s dialogues are funny at most places and tickle your funny bone at most occasions. Less said about Pritam’s music the better. We also wonder how could a master lyricist like Javed Akhtar could come up with such mediocre work. Though each of the song numbers have been shot well, there is not a single song you want to carry home or even hum around. Watching Kuke Kuke number is fun because of Govinda and Genelia’s histrionics. Editing by Sanjay Sankla needs some serious trimming especially in the second half.
Fardeen Khan has by now got comfortable with the camera and it shows. Tusshar suits in his part well and does full justice to it. Genelia looks cute but her dialogue delivery needs to be improved. Prachi Desai is very likeable and gives an earnest performance. Govinda once again plays to the gallery and succeeds in evoking laughter. Anupam Kher is like always, ever dependable. Vikram Gokhale and Darshan Jariwala are sincere in their respective roles. Amrita Rao in a guest appearance as a bar girl fails to create any impact again with her miniscule clothing.
All said and done, Life Partner can be a good fun filling experience this weekend (if you are not living in Mumbai) and can be watched along with your partner. For those who are still single, it teaches you the repercussions of having one in your life. So, be prepared!